Linked Feathers
by Emma Vance
Summary: Both come from a rough background. Both suffer the same fate- to be with each other til the end. Not the worst job in the world, but when one deals with the pressure of an harmful lifestyle and the other must watch and experience that pain of being on the sidelines, what is an angel to do? Rated 'M' for an abuse that gets better, lang., and eventual yaoi. Please read A/N. AU verse.
1. Chapter 1

**So guys, get this. It's Em, and this is not another chapter of FIW. Yeah, I'm sorry. There is no excuse for my actions. I just am in love with this game, really ship these characters, and started writing this at midnight this morning. I now have almost three chapters done and there was no way in hell that I was not going to post it. FIW is coming along, just very slowly. Like Ri-kun's and K-chan's relationship in the manga.**

**I wrote this kinda-sorta-not really-loosely based off another FF for this pairing I read where the setting was a bit different and so were the character. And well, it really wasn't my personal cuppa tea. So I wrote this. . . when I should have been sleeping. . . Great life lesson guys. Best work comes out of those who are sleep deprived, but don't listen to my advice on sleep.**

**Warning: Abuse, implied and some in there. Not ****_too_**** bad. And it really won't be that bad, I have a hard time reading abuse scenes, much less ****_writing_**** them. Also a TON of swearing, beware the potty mouths. There will be Yaoi later, but this is me writing it, so what did you expect?**

**Disclaimer: This belongs to Square Enix, and that other person that partnered with them to make it, because, you know, they own it. I would LOVE to own it. . . but I can't. . . which sucks. . .**

**Read, Review, and Fangirl on!**

Chapter 1-

I hold him close. A darling little angel, protected from the world. As long as I was his- and him mine, I would protect him with every fiber of my being.

_-REWIND-_

"Bitch! Get UP!"" He groans and sits up. Aware to his abuse, but not much else.

"Bitch! Dammit, you BETTER be moving! Or I will come up there and beat your ass!"

He freezes, unsure now of his actions, "I'm up." he tentatively calls back down. He's never tentative. Only around them.

"Then get dressed and cart your ass down here, you good-for-nothing brat!"

"Yes Ma'am," He swallows, "I'll be right down." He launches out of bed, grabbing the nearest article of semi-clean clothing- struggling to pull on his pants and shirt in his hurry to move fast- to please the very impatient woman downstairs.

He's on the main floor in no time flat, but his mother still gives him a glare as he enters the kitchen.

"'Bout time. Make breakfast, Sweetheart will be home soon."

"Yes Ma'am." He replies, and his head snaps to the side in pain as she slaps him across the face.

"Don't call me 'Ma'am'. It makes me sound old." She snaps.

"Yes." He changes meekly, adverting his eyes to the ground.

"Yes, what?" She growls at him.

"Yes, Miss."

"Better." She turns when she hears the front door open, and quickly makes her way to the front room, "Sweetheart!"

He turns to the stove, quickly turning on the burner and putting down a pan and eggs. His step-father's favourite breakfast.

"Hey, Hun! Where's the brat?"

"Kitchen, like he should be." His mother tells the man, who then strides into the kitchen.

"Shouldn't you be at school, Bitch?" The man accuses him.

"Making breakfast, Sir." He's always compliant at home.

_I wish that he'd give them the whole 'one, two' thing. If I were able to, I'd show them absolutely no mercy. . ._

"Breakfast, Bitch?"

"Yes, Sir." He cracks another egg into the pan.

The man pushes him out of the way, "You're doing it wrong!" he roars turning to the boy, "Get the fuck out of my house. I don't want to see your ugly mug right now!"

The boy backs out of the room, making a run for the front door. Slipping on his shoes he grabs his bag and hightails it out the door.

He got off easy this time. Next time it might be worse.

He attends school like a good boy. Dealing with only the half-assed shit of others. After, he makes the trek through Shibuya to the _Wildkat_. The only place where he feels safe.

"Hey." Sanae greets him as the boy enters through the front door. I stand next to him, watching.

The topics they chat about are graffiti art and music, topics that dulled me when not on the right objects. Soon they drift toward the fresh bandage on his cheek. He skates around the story until he finally says that he has to leave.

"Phones," Sanae calls out, stopping him at the door, "What do you believe in?"

"Myself." The best straight answer to come from his mouth.

Sanae scratches the top of his head, "No, I mean like God and all that shit."

He smiles sadly at Sanae, "Not at all. The only thing that I _can_ believe in is myself."

I feel myself flicker, but choose to adamantly ignore it.

He opens the door and the bell jingles, but he takes one last look at Sanae.

"Thanks, Mr. Hanekoma." He gives him a partial smile.

"Not at all, Neku." He smiles back.

Soon after he leaves, Sanae turns to me and nods, "You know what to do boss. You least of all can afford to flicker out."

"How do you know that?" I look at him, turning my gaze away from the door.

"Because I know who are."

"Does that mean I have permission to act?"

Sanae sighs, "You're the one who gives the permission, J. Perks of your job. You were just waiting for the right time. To see if things could be righted without your interference. But he _needs_ a Gurdian. And what better Angel is there to do the job?"

"Plenty." I laugh, humourously.

"But you're _his_. Don't blow it."

"You give me too much credit." I sigh, "I'll see what I can do."

"You do that, J." Sanae tells to my dissipating figure.

I appear back in front of the small house._ No time like the present. Huh, Neku?_

**I hope that was good. I made the characters not seem totally ****apparent****till the end on purpose. Please stick with it! I promise that it gets better, and I will post the next chapter when I type it!**

**Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, Em here. I know this isn't another chapter of FIW, but you're gonna have to get over it. Anyway I hope you guys like it! You also might have another picture after one of the next chapters.**

**Warning: Swearing, abuse, magic. Yeah all that fun stuff.**

**Disclaimer: This game and characters belong to Square Enix and it's partner. I wish to own it, but I'm not ****_nearly_**** that rich.**

**Read, review, and fangirl on!**

Chapter 2-

Chances come like bees to honey. It didn't take long for the abuse to start. It never does. Sometimes it starts little and grows big. Other times it flies off the handle right away. Gradual is what scares him the most, because he knows, that they know, what they're doing to him.

Tonight it was fast. No fooling around, no coming up to it or beating around the bush. It was fast and it hurt.

Instead of hitting Neku it 'hit the wall'. A little bit of interference on my part, moving the arm towards me at the last second. I know that I'll soon have a bruise on my forearm.

Neku seemed confused. His stepfather may be an abusive, drunk, bastard, but he was one that was always able to hit his mark. Especially when it came to Neku.

The man didn't seem to think anything of it, and after a few minutes of continually hitting 'the wall' he walked away. Already blaming Neku over the dent.

If anyone ever asked about Neku that man wouldn't hesitate for a second to throw him under the bus. If anyone asked about the 'dent' Neku would be in trouble, and then beaten later for coming up in yet another conversation.

But my job is to protect him. He's not going to get hurt like that again.

Neku slinks up the stairs, closing the door to him room quietly, as to not attract any more attention. He finally lets out a breath that he has been holding and flops onto the bed. I go over and sit on his rugged desk, staring at the boy, ignoring the pain in my arms and torso. It was less than a tenth of what he went through every day.

He stares at the ceiling. Contemplative, hands behind his head, headphones resting next to him on the mattress. He doesn't say anything. He never does. He prefers to work over problems in his head, not out loud. He's not like me- one who talks to myself, and him- because I know that he can't hear me.

I'm afraid that one day I'll become too transparent. Up until now my power has only been to keep the abuse to a non-threatening level. Now I think that it's too late. He'll stop believing in any kind of light and I'll fade. I'll fade and he'll get hurt again. So hurt he might die.

Some of them- the others- choose to reveal themselves to their charges. I myself wasn't going to do that without a _very_ good reason.

Later that night the door to Neku's room eases open. In stalks in the woman. The man had gotten to her. He'd shown her the damage. I wake up from the faint light of the hall landing on my face. An uneasy feeling suddenly resting in the pit of my stomach.

_He's the problem_, the man had said,_ he's the one that's breaking this house_. Thoughts, memories. That's all I could read from the lady.

I watch her move towards Neku. I don't move though, _ I can't make a move without reason._ All I can do for the moment is watch- though it is unlikely that this will go well. They never do. She never acts like a mother.

In quick motions she wraps her hands around Neku's throat and he wakes with a start. Eyes flying open against the attack.

I try to pull her off of him, but I've got a bad angle on her and she reeks of alcohol- anger giving her strength in this induced state.

Neku scrambles on the bed, hands on hers- trying to get them off.

At this point I give up trying the physical approach and move just so I'm in front of her. I throw a blinding ball of light at her and she flies back. I move forward again. Poised for another attack. I look her straight in the eyes and after a minute she gets a dazed look on her face. She stands, using the wall for balance, and wobbly walks downstairs.

I don't move, tension still in every part of my body. I feel Neku looking at me- staring, and I wish that I could say that it's through me. But I can't. It doesn't work like that.

"What the hell just happened? What did you just do to my mom? Who _are_ you?"

I turn to look at him, and I give him a small, sad smile and disappear- losing the ability to be seen and going back over to sit on the desk.

When you use angel magic you lower yourself to a lower frequency. The normal, _seeable_ frequency of Earth. Against all of my better judgment, I had done just that.

It had been necessary. I didn't want Neku to get hurt. Even if all my other motivations get screwed, that is the one that I plan on keeping pure.

But I also didn't want to hurt that woman. Evil as she is, she is someone that Neku does care for, meaning I can't touch her.

The man is a free reign though.

He stares at the place where I'd been standing. After several minutes he gets up and closes the door. Shaking his head he slowly climbs back into bed, but he doesn't fall asleep for another few hours. I in turn, do not sleep any more that night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! It's Em! Wow 2 chapters in one night! For those of you who read this, well you're lucky ducks. I hope that you like it!**

**Warning: Swearing, and Josh being Josh. Don't worry, he's way more Josh in the next chapters.**

**Disclaimer: This has not changed since the last chapter. I do not own, sorry.**

**(there will soon be a picture to go along with this chapter)**

**Read, Review, and Fangirl on!**

Chapter 3-

Neku wakes up early the next morning. He grabs his backpack, shoes that he had neglected to take off at the door, and his headphones- escaping through the bathroom window and down the terrace.

I follow dutifully as he maneuvers through the crowds in the outskirts of Shibuya, then the Scramble, and the places in between him and the _ Wildkat_, which he enters upon arriving. I hesitate to enter. I know why he's here. Sanae knows everything.

"Hey, Phones!" Sanae greets.

"Hey, Mr. H." The words are slightly overcast.

"Oh no," Sanae narrows his brow at him, "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"You get this way whenever you have a problem. So what's up?" He shoots me a quick glance.

"So there is someone there." Neku observes.

Sanae and I jump, "What?" Sanae asks .

"You looked behind me, not at me. So you can see him." _This kid pays more attention than I give him credit for._

Sanae sighs and Neku sits down at the counter. Sanae then looks straight at me, Neku turns and follows his gaze- landing directly on thin air.

"Yes, I can see him."

"So it's a him. It was harder to tell last night."

"What do you mean?" Sanae glares at me, "What did you do?"

"He helped me." Neku shrugs.

"His mother." I whisper- Neku doesn't hear me, but Sanae nods in understanding.

"Why can't I see him?" Neku asks suddenly.

"Hmm. It takes time and effort for this one h-"

"How long has he been with me? What can I do to see him?"

I glare at Sanae, "You tell him to get hurt by anyone, including himself, and I _will_ kill you."

"Don't worry." Sanae sighs, and Neku shoots him a look. Sanae just nods and points to the air, "Directed at him. Sorry." Neku nods.

"Well, Phones," Sanae continues, "That's something that he should tell you himself. As for seeing him, well, one option is out of the water- he vetoed it immediately. He's not the most sociable being in the world, but if you find a reclusive place and ask _really_ nicely he might show himself. No promises on that though."

Neku nods his thanks and shoots out the door.

Sanae looks at me, motioning to follow the boy. I sigh, and trail after him.

He walks and walks. He's obviously skipping school today. Nothing in his demenour says anything other than determination.

He finally reaches the Udagawa Back Streets. This part of Shibuya is always deserted, only the rough and tough dare to venture here on a regular basis.

Neku stands there for a few minutes, waiting. Finally he decides to extend a formal invitation.

"Okay, we're all alone. Come out now!"

I knew it.

I'd love to show him. Show him that I'm real. To make it so that I don't flicker out of existence. But it's really not that easy. Neku has a lot on his plate already, and I know for a fact that I'm not the easiest person to deal with. I'd just be another bundle of stress on his already frayed life. _The last thing I need is him doing something stupid. I don't mind a little adventure, but if he goes out of his way to cause it then it'll get really hard to save his ass._

"Fine." He mumbles, "But I'm not leaving until you do. I mentally cringe. This is not a good neighborhood to be stubborn in. It could very well get him killed.

He sits down, back to one of the _Cat_ murals and pulls out his sketchpad. He fishes out a pencil out of his bag and hunkers over the paper, hand flying across the open space. I'd seen his pictures before, and his artistic talent is very high. I try to peer over his shoulder, but I can't see, he's hiding the paper with the his body.

We sit around for about an hour. I sit in front of Neku, and all he does is draw, and then stare off into space for a few minutes. I'd kill to know what is going through his head, but I'm not going to scan the boy without reason.

His phone rings suddenly and we both jump at the noise. He digs it out of his pocket and checks the caller ID. His face lights up so I assume it's Shiki, an interesting friend at Neku's school. Odd, but interesting.

It's not though, Neku flips open the phone and sticks it to his ear.

"Mr. H. What's up?" His voice is bright.

I inwardly groan.

"Nope, not a thing. Any tips?"

There's a pause as Sanae tells him something. Neku's grin gets bigger. _This isn't going to be good._

"Okay. Got it. Yeah, I think it'll work. Yep, I'll tell him. Got it, see you later. Thanks for the help." Neku closes the phone and I warily stand when he does.

He looks around, but he has no idea where I am- so he's subjected to talking to the general air.

"Mr. H, said to tell you that he said that if you don't appear within the next five minutes he's not gonna' take any more side job requests. And worse than that," Neku continues, "The free drinks and conversation is gonna' disappear."

I growl. _He wouldn't do that. . . would he? . . . Yes. Yes he would. He's been trying to get me to do this for years, he would most certainly do that._ Side quests were something that I needed done, and often I didn't have the time to do them myself. They were essential to my job here. And although I enjoy the free caffeine, I really visit the shop for the conversation. I don't talk to Neku, and Sanae is the only one that talks to me without being somewhat afraid.

Sighing, I resign myself to the fact that Sanae has won this round. I don't like losing, but sometimes you have to lose a battle to win the war in the long run.

Slowly I materialize myself in front of him. Body being lowered into a frequency that he can see.

His mouth slacks from confusion and the amazement of my _actually_ being there. I smirk at him, habit of being an ass taking over.

"Hello, Neku. It's, I suppose- nice to formally meet you."


End file.
